(no subject)

[corilannam]

Not all that long ago, it really came home to me in a big way that the life I'm currently leading is not the life I want to be leading. I made a list of Things About My Life Which Suck, and luckily, it turns out that most of the things on that list are more or less fixable by me. So this past weekend I adapted that list into a list of Things to Do to Make My Life Suck Less.

The first thing on the list was building a time machine finally getting my driver's license. I've been putting this off for years and years now for a number of reasons, which mostly come down to finances and nerves. I dismissed the first concern with the thought that even if I can't get a car right away, I should at least be able to drive it in theory, just in case Oprah wants to give me one someday.

The nerves are a little harder to deal with. I'm 28, and I've driven around a parking lot exactly once, and at no time did I feel like I had control of the gigantic metal *thing* I was in. I can't imagine feeling in control of that. Combine that with my natural absentmindedness, and deep inside I'm convinced that I would be a completely unfit driver. I can see it now: I'll be toodling along the highway and my mind will start drifting into pleasant thoughts of House and Wilson making out or Jack and Daniel snarking (and making out) and suddenly there will be another car and there will be a telephone pole and there will be me in a crumpled, flaming wreck on the side of the road and that is how I am doomed to die.

*deep breath*

But you know, it really can't be as hard as that, right? I can figure this driving thing out. Because there are a ton of people who are out there driving around in this country, and I have to think that an enormous number of them are not as smart as me. In fact, a rather significant percent of them are absolute idiots. I know this, because when I go somewhere with friends who drive, they always spend a great deal of the time loudly telling other drivers how stupid they are. So if they can do it, surely I can.

So I went back to the MVA this morning to get my learner's permit for the third time. They did not mock me the way they did the second time, which I appreciated, and I have to say, I'm really impressed with how they've streamlined the entire license-or-permit-getting process over there. I look highly unimpressed in my picture, but hey, I can totally tell that I've lost weight, at least. The weight is the same on this one as on the last one, but that's because I was *really* lying last time.

I've gotten this far before. The next step is to actually call driving schools, find one, learn to drive, and then get the freaking license. Then I'll get to cross something off my long-term to do list, and life will suck a little less. The other things won't be this easy, so I'll take this as practice.

Comments

[meyerlemon.livejournal.com]

I learned to drive late, too! My tips from that experience, FWIW:

*You are going to be totally nervous and convinced that you'll never be able to do this. That's okay. Because after you've been driving for a month you'll be really puzzled that you didn't know how at some point.

*I don't know where you're located (MVA?) but if possible, learn to drive an automatic first. I realize that people will probably disagree with me, but I attempted to learn a stick originally, and then I was like--um, no. So learn to drive the automatic, and then it's not that hard to go back and add in the skill of shifting.

*Again, this will vary based on your area, but in California, you don't get tested on freeways. So I was Miss Uppity and informed my instructors that I had no desire to pay them 85 dollars an hour to drive on the 10. Again, that's probably not actually the best way to go about it, but I was on a limited budget, and my goal was to be able to pass the test asap. Later, you can get a friend to help you practice more. They'll be bribable for the price of a movie ticket- much cheaper. :)

*Similar to the above: when I was learning, the thing that freaked me out most was the speed with which things moved. I really REALLY think it was a good choice for me to shun freeways initially- to be honest, um, it took me a year or so to work up to it. (I really dislike the feeling of "no control" that comes with high speeds.)

*I would highly recommend packing your lessons in as closely together as you can. I would say that about 90% of driving is muscle memory and ...trained reflexes, I guess? So if you wait a week between lessons, you lose a lot of what you'd built up.

*A lot of learning to drive - for me at least - was simply logging the hours (again, the muscle memory). Things happen too quickly for you to be able to think your way into the correct solution (or perhaps my brain is just really slow) so you need to react unconsciously. If your locale permits you to drive with another liscensed driver in teh car or anything, find a friend and beg. Seriously, it will dramatically cut back on the cost of learning to drive if you can log an hour here or there driving around residential areas.

*You can TOTALLY do this. It's not going to be as hard as you think, and I say this as someone who was so nervous the first time she got behind the wheel she, um, kind of started to cry. (Don't tell anyone.)

Good luck!

[marzilla.livejournal.com]

Woo! Thanks for all the tips. I will make good use of them, promise. And yeah, my best friend got suckered into agreeing to help me practice -- in fact, it's required by law here (Maryland) to log 60 hours of practice in a car with another licensed driver in addition to the driving school hours before you can even apply for an actual license.

*jitters*